Showing results for "summons"

• present tense form of summon (3rd person singular).

summons

American  

[suhm-uhnz] / ˈsʌm ənz /

noun

• summonses
  plural

1. an authoritative command, message, or signal by which one is summoned.

2. a request, demand, or call to do something.

   a summons to surrender.

3. Law.

   1. a call or citation by authority to appear before a court or a judicial officer.

   2. the writ by which the call is made.

4. an authoritative call or notice to appear at a specified place, as for a particular purpose or duty.

5. a call issued for the meeting of an assembly or parliament.

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verb (used with object)

• summonses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• summonsed,
  past participle,  past
• summonsing
  present participle

1. to serve with a summons; summon.

summons British  

/ ˈsʌmənz /

noun

1. a call, signal, or order to do something, esp to appear in person or attend at a specified place or time

2. 1. an official order requiring a person to attend court, either to answer a charge or to give evidence

   2. the writ making such an order Compare warrant

3. a call or command given to the members of an assembly to convene a meeting

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verb

1. to take out a summons against (a person)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsummons
  noun
• resummons
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• summonses
  plural

Participles

• summonsing
  present
• summonsed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• summons
  simple
• summonses
  simple
• have summonsed
  perfect
• has summonsed
  perfect
• am summonsing
  progressive
• are summonsing
  progressive
• is summonsing
  progressive
• have been summonsing
  perfect progressive
• has been summonsing
  perfect progressive

Past

• summonsed
  simple
• had summonsed
  perfect
• was summonsing
  progressive
• were summonsing
  progressive
• had been summonsing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will summons
  simple
• will have summonsed
  perfect
• will be summonsing
  progressive
• will have been summonsing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of summons

1250–1300; Middle English somons < Anglo-French; Old French somonse < Vulgar Latin *summonsa, for Latin summonita, feminine past participle of summonēre; see summon

Explanation

A summons is a request or order for someone to show up, especially for legal matters. You could get a summons to testify at a trial, for example. When you summon someone, you're requesting the person to join you, essentially saying, "Come here!" Similarly, a summons asks for someone to appear. This could be a friendly request or invitation, like a summons to join some friends for a road trip, but the most common type of summons is official and legally binding. If you receive a summons to appear in court, you have to show up. Ignoring that kind of summons is a crime.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

summons summonses summonsed summonsing

The summons was issued last year but Wright launched a legal challenge which was dismissed by two senior judges on Wednesday.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Issuing the summons against the four men last year, District Judge Stephen Leake said the EA alleged there had been "a deliberate plan by officers of the company to manipulate the OSM regime".

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

The court then sends a summons to that agent, which can decide to appear in court or pay a fine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

The new summons, just weeks after Musk didn’t show up for a voluntary interview with French prosecutors, escalates a trans-Atlantic feud over France’s handling of its long-running probe of X.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

Pippin left him and called for the servants, and they came: six men of the household, strong and fair; yet they trembled at the summons.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Justice Department letter said the French had asked for U.S. assistance three times this year, including for serving summonses on X officials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

The summonses were issued "as part of the application of administrative sanctions in accordance with the applicable provisions", the minister added.

From Barron's ● Mar. 31, 2026

Over the past two weeks the disgraced leader had already ignored three summonses issued for him to appear for questioning, leading a Seoul court to issue a warrant for his arrest early this week.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2025

He had a backlog of jury summonses he hadn’t responded to, and it was time to make it right.

From New York Times ● May 10, 2024

The debate over the Super had not let up, resulting in frequent summonses to Washington.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

“There should never have been an arrest warrant, because normally she would receive a summons in the mail. In many cases, people who are charged with nonviolent offenses like this are summonsed into court.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2024

Many of those arrested earlier in the week had been summonsed for Russian military service, state media reported.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 24, 2022

He has been summonsed to appear before Brighton magistrates on 23 June, and has been suspended from duty.

From BBC ● May 27, 2022

He posted the following on Twitter after being summonsed:

From Time ● Oct. 14, 2016

"Go directly," she said, "or I'll report you and have you summonsed!"

From Love, the Fiddler by Lloyd Osbourne

With a terrible love of summonsing, and a thorough enjoyment of a law-court, he enters into the spirit of the thing like an attorney's clerk.

From To The Gold Coast for Gold, Vol. II A Personal Narrative by Sir Richard Francis Burton

Old-fashioned landladies might refuse her lunch, it is true; and a narrowminded police force might desire to secure her, and wrap her in a rug preliminary to summonsing her. 

From Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

Related Words

• indictment
• subpoena
• warrant
• writ